And Rome Fell
by Solarflare-712
Summary: It took 24 hours for the administration of Pixies Inc to collapse entirely. The former Head Pixie and his assistant, Sanderson, have been thrust into exile, and must turn to an unlikely source for protection. (No ships. T for potential violence and adult themes. Post-"School's Out! The Musical".)
1. Chapter 1

"Five motorcycles. A UFO frisbee. A semi-automatic _toilet paper launcher._ Need I go on?"

HP gave little sign that he even heard the reporter's droning, but Sanderson couldn't hold back a strained frown. They stood side-by-side behind two podiums – HP's being slightly taller, of course – with an ocean of reporters and various officials before them. It was the largest press conference HP had attended in his long career as ruler of the pixies' corporate empire, and that was certainly saying something.

"Not to mention," another reporter chimed in, "the excessive displays of emotion. Unruly smiling and... frowning." He squinted at Sanderson behind his sunglasses. The young assistant clenched his teeth and cast his gaze off to the side, unable to meet the reporter's eyes even through two layers of tinted plastic. Most of the others in the pit had discarded their sunglasses and reverted to the black-and-grey suits of the previous administration in a display of noncompliance. Even their hair was slicked back, in stark contrast with the pompadour trend Sanderson himself had set all those years ago.

If there was one thing that stood between HP and the popular vote, it was Sanderson himself. They both knew it, but neither of them was willing to get rid of him, and so it became a thing to work around over the decades. They had always succeeded before. This time, though, Sanderson was having his doubts.

HP, for his part, hovered behind his oh-so-tall podium, stolid as ever. He hadn't even broken a sweat.

"How are you going to answer for what you've done, Mister Head Pixie?" A higher voice called from the middle of the crowd. Everyone knew what they wanted.

Sanderson had been confirmed as having what the pixies called an "emotional defect" early on in HP's reign. It had been a point of contest for several years before HP had firmly slammed the door on the discussion and left the bolder reporters to sniff around the sidelines. While he could never function among humans or – Powers That Be forbid – fairies, Sanderson was still too emotional to fit in among his own kind. If not for his political skill, he would've been banished to wander between worlds for eternity or placed in a reclamation facility, instead of being taken in as HP's lead adviser and personal assistant. To this day, nobody but the two of them knew why HP had decided on Sanderson for the job.

But now, everyone was sick of him: the older generation was certain he'd influenced HP somehow and that was why the ruler's plans always failed; the younger generation figured HP for a sloppy leader and a potential emotional defective himself, and lampooned for his resignation and Sanderson's reclamation. Everyone else was varying shades of disgruntled. Public support for the current Head Pixie had plummeted after the failure of what was now being called "The Clown Plan".

And so, HP found himself before every important figure in the pixies' political body, being asked to answer for _what he had done. _That meant so many things it almost, _almost_ made his head spin. Answer for the failed plan. Answer for the fun you had a direct hand in creating. Answer for your assistant's weakness. Answer for the rumors of your own weakness. Answer answer answer. It was mind-bogglingly infuriating, but HP kept his cool, as always. He noted Sanderson's discomfort out of the corner of his eye and felt something well up in his chest, something that had no name but "defective" and "unnatural" in pixie society, and he thought wryly for a moment that perhaps the rumors weren't so far off the mark.

Finally, HP spoke. The crowd collectively held its breath.

"What I did was for the furthering of Pixies Inc. Sacrifices were made. The plan failed because of the unpredictable nature of human emotion. And as for the allegations of _unruly emotion..._" lavender eyes practically burned a hole in the last reporter's head, "They are baseless. My only mistake was trusting in the ability of humans to be manipulated. The rest was the result of variables that could not be controlled."

The crowd roared, and HP hovered offstage, clearly finished discussing the issue for the day. Sanderson followed close behind as their hired guards closed in to protect them from the crowd. They arrived at Pixies Inc in one piece – just barely. The building was nearly empty. All employees had been sent home for the day in light of the current unrest. It wouldn't do to have dissidents lurking where the Head Pixie slept. The only ones who remained were the security guards and the janitors.

The door to the building's penthouse suite clicked shut softly and HP finally let down his guard. A tap of a button on the wall caused the suite's massive window to tint, so the crowds on the sidewalk below could see nothing. HP sat heavily in a cushioned chair and rubbed at his temples. Sanderson hovered anxiously by his side.

"It might get dangerous," the younger pixie said quietly.

HP offered no response, which Sanderson knew was his equivalent of a grim "I know". The two sat in their living room for several hours, saying nothing. They went to their rooms with the weight of the day on their shoulders.

...

The crash sounded at 2am Pixies Inc standard time, and HP woke instantly. Not bothering with the halls, he snatched his phone from its place on his bedside table and was about to "ping" to Sanderson's room, but the younger pixie beat him to the punch. One look told HP that his assistant hadn't slept. One look told Sanderson that it was time to go.

Before the flood of dissidents and revolutionaries that had been building up for two decades could enter through the shattered window, and before the hired guards could reach their charges, the two most powerful pixies in the multiverse had already "pinged" away, with their phones set to "untraceable".

And so the reign of the first lavender-eyed head pixie fell in a day and a night.


	2. Chapter 2

One of the biggest problems with being among the most well-known people in the magical multiverse was that everyone had an opinion on you. This was doubly true for HP. Or rather, the former HP. He scowled in distaste, knowing he'd have to return to his old name before too long. Pixies were organized, if nothing else. They'd find a new Head Pixie soon, and then what would he be? Alois. How unimposing.

In the split second he had to think, the ex-Head Pixie grabbed his assistant's wrist and "pinged" them both to the only political no-man's-land he knew. They would be found easily if they went to Kansas or Antarctica, and London and the North Pole were just as bad. The fairies would rat them our for sure, and the antifairies, while acceptable in times of need, were untrustworthy at best. There was nobody left in the Pixies Inc corporate empire to turn to. So where?

A cloud of grey-blue pixels filled the messy bedroom of a certain unassuming child and his equally unassuming fairies. It was the last place Sanderson or his boss (ex-boss?) wanted to be, but there was nowhere else to go.

Luckily, the owner of the bedroom was away at school for the time being, and his fairies with him. Unluckily, this left the pixies with few options. They settled for hiding in the closet. After all, there were enough magically-summoned toys and games in there to shield their own magical signatures, at least for a while. They sat in the dark for several hours before the creak of the floorboards and the chatter of Timmy Turner, Cosmo, and Wanda echoed through the crack under the closet door.

"Of course not," said Cosmo matter-of-factly.

Timmy made a noise and chimed in, "Why would a beetle do _that? _I mean, if it was a-"

"Shh!" It had to be Wanda.

"What is it?"

"My wand is picking up on something unusual. Just hold on..."

There were a few moments of near-silence, the only indication that anyone remained in the room being the steady beeping of Wanda's wand. It grew louder, faster, closer, until a blinding burst of light washed over the inside of the closet. Sanderson squinted in spite of his sunglasses, while the former Head Pixie shielded his eyes. A collective gasp could be heard from the room's other three occupants.

"Pixies!" Timmy shouted. The intruders' eyes gradually adjusted to the light streaming in through the windows and they hovered forward cautiously. Sanderson kept a few paces behind his ex-boss, who slowly reached into a pocket. Cosmo and Wanda pointed their wands dangerously at the pixies (though Cosmo's was backwards). Alois, once ruler of the pixies, froze at the silent threat, then continued, moving as slowly as he could. Behind the usual stony apathy, there was a glint in his eyes not unlike that of a cornered animal. Sanderson held his breath.

A small flip-phone was produced from the pixie's inner jacket pocket, and Wanda shouted, "Freeze! Don't make me use this!" There was a pause as everyone present seemed to follow Sanderson's lead before Alois dropped his phone on the floor. He hovered down until he was just a few centimeters above the ground, then kicked the phone away. A clear sign of peace. The fairies lowered their wands hesitantly, glancing between themselves, then back at the intruders.

"Check the news." Alois's voice was surprisingly steady, given the situation. Wanda did as he said, though there was no small amount of wariness in her gaze. She held her wand out so the others could see the sleek surface of its star topper. The gold of the star seemed to ripple as it changed from solid color to a view of one of fairyland's news stations. The image flickered from Fairy Hart, the station's lead reporter, to various images of the Pixies Inc cloud – the heart of the Pixies Inc corporate empire.

"... and it is quite a scene in downtown, as pixies from around the magical universe place their ballots for the new Head Pixie!" The small screen flickered to a photograph. "After the sudden disappearance of the previous Head Pixie, pictured here, along with his longtime assistant and confidant-" the picture switched to one of Sanderson- "the Pixies Inc corporate empire has been left leaderless. They clearly won't let that stop them, though." The image returned to Fairy Hart's face. "Stay posted for updates on-"

Wanda switched the news station off, and her wand returned to its usual golden sheen. She glared at Alois and Sanderson in turn. "How do we know this isn't a trap? And why would you come here, of all places?"

"Yeah!" Timmy jibed. "What makes you think we'd help _you, _huh?"

"Because we can double your magic."

Wanda made a face, but something flickered in Timmy's eyes, and it was clear that he was hooked. "What do you mean, double the magic? What's the catch?"

Alois grabbed Sanderson's wrist, and he took the hint, passing his own phone to the former ruler, who tossed it to Timmy. "The _catch_ is that it's set to pull energy from us directly, instead of reaching for phone stations back in pixie territory. It's virtually untraceable, and the only people in the magical universe who know we're here are in this room." He paused for effect. "As long as you leave the settings in the phone alone and _don't tell anyone, _we can stay here safely, and as long as you have our phones, we can't cause any trouble." Alois extended his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"Timmy..." Wanda muttered warningly. "I've got a bad feeling about this. And you still didn't answer my question," she shot at Alois. "Why did you come here? Don't you have a hideout or something?"

The pixie frowned. "Not one that wouldn't be found eventually. As much as the three of you are... involved in magical affairs, you aren't all that taken up by the political struggles. That makes you secure. I'm not saying I trust you," he said pointedly, "because I don't, and I don't think you trust us either. But we can help each other. With the phones, Turner will be able to make twice the wishes at half the cost to you two. Everyone wins. In the meantime, we'll wait for the storm to blow over so we can find a more optimal base."

There was static in the air as Wanda mulled over her enemy's words. Cosmo, for his part, couldn't help noticing the tension in Sanderson's expression, and his own eyes had gone into puppy dog mode. "Aw, Wanda, I'm sure it'll be okay!"

"Well..." and she looked at the pixies, finally looked at them instead of glaring or seething, and found the same thing her husband had found: fear. Barely-concealed fear and, for Alois, desperation, and something in Wanda caved just a little bit. After all, they were giving up their phones, and as far as she knew, the only magical beings that could use magic without a conduit were genies. What was the harm?

She sighed dramatically and crossed her arms. "Ohhh, all right. But I'll be keeping an eye on you two."

Alois nodded in genuine understanding (after all, he'd be just as wary if the tables were turned) and extended his hand once again. Timmy grinned and shook it. And so the pact was made.


End file.
